Friday, April 27, 2018

Children’s iPad App, Play School Art Maker

Play School is a much loved educational TV show in Australia, aimed at younger audiences. The Play School Art Maker app is associated with the show, and developer is the Australian Broadcasting Commission.

From the developer:

FEATURES:
* create pictures with Big Ted, Little Ted, Humpty, Jemima and their friends
* decorate scenes with a large range of art and craft items
* animate pictures to create movies with your own songs or narration
* choose from 6 Play School craft backgrounds (Beach, Bedroom, Farm, Kitchen, Moon, Underwater) or choose from 1 of 16 plain coloured paper backgrounds
* use a photo from your own album as a background to bring Play School into your world
* save pictures and animations to share with friends and family – you can even come back and edit them later
* make a story slideshow using up to 8 of your pictures and animations
* you don’t need to be connected to the internet to make pictures, animated movies or slideshows
* watch episodes of Play School (this feature requires a web connection and can be disabled)

What I liked:

This app is free, and navigation is simple. Kids will recognize their favourites from the TV, and there are art and craft items that can be manipulated as well. I liked that children can add Humpty, Jemima or one of the Teds to their own scenes/photos, the way I did in my image above. (Kudos to anyone who recognises the beach!) I particularly liked that this app is a way for young children, perhaps with help, to create a digital story. Kids could go on to create “real life” art with elements like the ones shown in the app - patty cake cases, pegs and paper scraps.

Some kids will find manipulating the digital image elements difficult - pinching out and in to enlarge or rotate is not always easy for youngsters' small hands. But like all apps, kids will benefit the most if parents participate in the creation process, discuss, and be there as back-up.